“.. Yes, I know,” Hiromitsu Morofushi's voice dropped, “Even Scotland never had anything like this..”
He was the one who knew this better than anyone else.
Hiromitsu Morofushi felt as if he were somewhat oxygen-deprived, but Yamawashi had clearly loosened his grip slightly, allowing him to breathe normally.
Time flies when one is busy; merely dealing with matters related to Yamawashi was enough to leave him overwhelmed, this matter accounted for only one-tenth of the things he had to focus on every day.
The tranquility of Yamawashi was too deceptive; they had cooperated so well over the past few months that he had almost forgotten about that "Scotland" who was still under the control of Public Security.
.. No." He refused again. "I can't let you meet just yet.
Yamawashi rarely asked others for their reasons; perhaps it was just his nature, being indifferent to what others thought, or perhaps it was related to his past as a mercenary. In any case, he rarely asked why, more often than not, he simply carried out his orders in silence.
Hiromitsu Morofushi was gambling, gambling that Yamawashi would not press further this time either.
After a moment of stalemate, Yamawashi completely let go. Hiromitsu Morofushi leaned against the door and coughed twice, not daring to turn around.
He had no excuse that could be spoken aloud.
If he couldn't even convince himself, let alone convince Yamawashi, so he chose silence.
Yamawashi was so calm, even his footsteps were steady and rhythmic, as if the hostility from just now had never existed. Hiromitsu Morofushi's gaze landed vacantly on the door lock, he suddenly spoke, "Do you have something you want to tell him?"
He didn't turn around, but he knew the footsteps in Yamawashi had definitely stopped.
It's too dangerous to take you with me, but taking a message.. that's fine.
The world fell into silence. Hiromitsu Morofushi almost thought he had misjudged, for Yamawashi had actually left long ago. However, as he hesitantly and slowly turned his head, that gray-haired young man was clearly still standing behind him, still maintaining the motion of being about to turn around.
After a long silence, Yamawashi finally spoke, as if he had finally found something to say to Scotland: "Ask him for the answer to that novel of his."
He didn't mention the title, but Hiromitsu Morofushi knew almost instantly which novel it was.
His facial muscles stiffened for no reason.
“Aren't you planning to keep watching?”
In fact, Hiromitsu Morofushi knew the answer to this question. Yamawashi had told him long ago that Scotland said the answer he was told was different from the answer he saw himself.
.. But he and Yamawashi had never discussed the books.
"I'll ask for you," Hiromitsu Morofushi said.
Yamawashi suddenly stepped forward. Hiromitsu Morofushi instinctively moved to block, but Yamawashi only took the small box placed on the shoe cabinet.
He lowered his hand awkwardly, then suddenly felt a surge of pleasant surprise.
So it was placed there just to prevent it from being broken during a fight?
He knew he was overthinking it, it was rare for Yamawashi to be willing to accept a gift, but looking at that silhouette, he still couldn't help but add one more sentence: "Aren't you going to open it and take a look?"
“It doesn't matter what it is.” As he spoke, Aotsuki casually opened the box, but his movements paused.
The ruby cufflinks, red as flames, were like a pair of fiery eyes. They felt completely out of place against the gray irises gazing at them; even when reflected in his eyes, they failed to lend much color.
He took a deep breath, snapped the lid shut with a loud "click," gripped the box tightly until his knuckles turned white, strode away.
**
Relaying messages between Scotland and Yamawashi was a task that was both simple and difficult.
It was simple, because he didn't even need to play two roles like last time; he only needed to go out one day and return to see Yamawashi with the answer to the question.
If you were to ask why Yamawashi hadn't discovered Scotland's hiding place despite not being followed, it was certainly because his counter-intelligence capabilities were strong, not because such a hostage didn't exist in this world.
Yamawashi would ask such a simple question because he likely never truly believed he would help deliver the message; no matter what he said upon his return, Yamawashi would think he was lying.
He lied, yet he did not lie.
Every single word he said to Yamawashi had indeed come from Scotland's mouth, yet Yamawashi would not believe it.
“He said that?” A thin layer of mockery appeared on Yamawashi's face. “You can actually say things like that.. What else did he have to say to me? Just say it all at once.”
No.
Scotland would not have left any message for Yamawashi.
Hiromitsu Morofushi had once imagined how Scotland would face the entire incident if everything were true rather than originating from lies and deception.
This was the key to how he could play the role of "Scotland under house arrest" in front of Yamawashi a few months ago.
Once arrested, Scotland would not choose to seek help from Yamawashi; anyone in the Organization would do, but Yamawashi was the only one he could not turn to.
Just as Scotland had previously viewed Yamawashi only as an object to be used, judging others by his own standards, Scotland would also believe that Yamawashi was merely playing with him. Given that this was someone with a past record of killing comrades, if Yamawashi were to find out he had been arrested by Public Security, there was no guarantee whether Yamawashi would save him or kill him first upon meeting.
Therefore, if such a situation were to occur, unless he had some ulterior motive, Scotland would absolutely not bring any messages to Yamawashi.
But Hiromitsu Morofushi continued speaking, looking at Yamawashi and saying earnestly, "He told you to take good care of yourself and not to keep getting injured."
Yamawashi was clearly stunned, his gaze fixed on Hiromitsu Morofushi's face. It took a long moment before he turned his gaze away, his tone shifting from mockery back to its usual indifference.
Yamawashi crossed his arms and looked out the window. The night had deepened, two blurry figures were reflected in the glass.
.. You police officers, who claim to uphold fairness and justice, are actually far more cunning than the people in the Organization. Your evil can only be seen through a magnifying glass, unlike us, whose corruption is evident on the surface.
Hiromitsu Morofushi stood up.
Yamawashi: "Stop."
Hiromitsu Morofushi stopped in his tracks, without turning around, he clearly saw through the glass that Yamawashi was looking at him.
“.. What's wrong?”
“What about the question I asked you? What is the answer,” Yamawashi said. “The solution to that novel.”
This was the simplest question of the night, yet Hiromitsu Morofushi did not answer and left in a hurry.
The words were so simple—that the killer was the detective himself—yet he simply could not bring himself to speak them.
Chapter 37
Regarding the decision to make Yamawashi an assistant to Public Security, Bourbon, who held an opposing attitude but cooperated in action, was also among those involved, having recently been delayed in America due to a mission.
His friend did not ask him the reason, only offering his usual trust and support, which was completely opposite to Yamawashi's distrust and suspicion, yet the conclusion appeared to be exactly the same.
Since you have made up your mind, I won't say much more. If you need any help, feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you.
After hanging up the phone, Hiromitsu Morofushi's mood failed to lighten.
He restarted the car and turned around to head toward another location.
Over the past three years, he had never truly come to this place, yet he had pushed open this door in his dreams more than once.
He thought he would never come to this place again.
Whether he comes or not is not important; what matters is that Yamawashi will never come again.
What was Yamawashi thinking at the exact moment he discovered Scotland's true identity? Hiromitsu Morofushi wondered.
Everything had turned around; perhaps he would never know the answer.
Public Security's missions were progressing in an orderly fashion, the missions from the Organization were also continuing.
Today's mission was a continuation of that assassination attempt from several months ago. Calculating it, this was already the third time Hiromitsu Morofushi had appeared in this area for a mission and Yamawashi at the same time.
This was the first time he had encountered Yamawashi's location.
Today's mission didn't require direct violence, but rather deterrence and negotiation. Since he didn't need to intervene in these matters, Hiromitsu Morofushi simply followed quietly behind Yamawashi.
Rather than saying Yamawashi was skilled at these things, Hiromitsu Morofushi felt it was more accurate to say that Yamawashi was simply accustomed to doing them.
Such a Yamawashi is so dazzling that one cannot look away, yet one also feels that he is being covered in dust.
Even if he weren't doing something like this, Yamawashi would still be someone one couldn't help but gaze at.
On the way back, everything felt like a repeat of the past; Hiromitsu Morofushi was driving, Yamawashi sat in the passenger seat.
As they passed over a large bridge, Hiromitsu Morofushi slowed the car. At dusk, the setting sun rested upon the sea, rising and falling with the waves.
The fiery red sunset reminded Hiromitsu Morofushi of that brooch.
Yamawashi suddenly said, "Ikubunkan Academy is ahead."
That was a somewhat distant topic for them, as a month had passed since their last unpleasant parting.
Yamawashi rarely takes the initiative to bring up any topic.
Do you want to go in and take a look?" Hiromitsu Morofushi said. "The high school campus is very beautiful.
".. No." Yamawashi refused, turning his head to look at the coastline outside the window.
Even so, when passing by Ikubunkan Academy, Hiromitsu Morofushi still brought his car to a stop.
On the weekend, there were no students in the school; with their skills, they could slip in silently without being noticed by anyone.
Hiromitsu Morofushi thought Yamawashi was interested in this place, but as Yamawashi stood outside the wall looking at the school that was tightly closed to them, his gaze was unusually calm, he shook his head.
Even though he didn't intend to go inside, he didn't seem to intend to leave immediately either.
He rarely saw Yamawashi take an interest in anything.
He had been working as a mercenary since he was sixteen, so perhaps he held a sense of longing for school life. His love for reading might also be related to that. Yet, after much thought, he realized that his own student days were impossible to speak of, discussing the student lives of others was meaningless; ultimately, he could only think of the noble high school beside him.
"The emblem of this school is very beautiful; perhaps you have seen it before as well." Hiromitsu Morofushi glanced at Yamawashi's cuff, which was empty.
Just as Yamawashi wouldn't accept his cigarette, his cufflinks had been casually tossed aside and were now missing.
The school emblem of this academy is a bird with spreading wings. The badges worn by the students have a ruby embedded in the bird's eye, which looks as if it has come to life under the sunlight, as if it might fly away at any second..
Hiromitsu Morofushi suddenly felt a bit cold. He turned to look toward Yamawashi, meeting those gray, somber eyes, his heart began to race without warning.
“.. What's wrong?”
Yamawashi had turned around at some unknown point, looking at him expressionlessly: "What do you say the brooch looks like?"
At this moment, it was as if the entire world had been vacuum-sealed. Hiromitsu Morofushi's breathing suddenly hitched, yet on the surface, he still appeared relaxed and composed.
He did not answer rashly, but he also realized that if Yamawashi would say such a thing so suddenly, then there might be some difference between the brooch Yamawashi had picked up and the other brooches in Ikubunkan Academy.
He couldn't be certain exactly what was different. He noted that Yamawashi's brooch was already three years old, he had never seen other Ikubunkan Academy student badges with his own eyes, having only seen the patterns on the side of the badge and the school emblem found everywhere in Ino Seigo's bookstore.
.. Is there something different about the front? Or is there a difference in some other detail? The brooch Yamawashi picked up wasn't an Ikubunkan Academy student badge?